![]() ![]() I was told they thought it was worth a shot as the amps weren't expensive (I think they ended up fetching $200 or so on eBay 5 or 6 years ago) but didn't expect much, and were shocked. I sold the last two I had because I have a 5D3 and needed room and money - both buyers were floored. There were quite a few (and still some) who scoff at it - and most of the naysayers are going on an empty tank as they've never HAD one or have but never stuck a decent alnico 12 in it *and* played with tubes (the lower-gain preamp tube is a big piece of the puzzle many buyers of Musicmasters miss). What you end up with is darned close to a 5D3 later wide-panel Deluxe sound. There are websites that list a few tweaks you can do - but honestly out of the 4 or 5 I've had (both the 6V6 and 6AQ7 - note they are NOT 6BQ7's aka EL84's and lots of p[layers by them making that mistake thinking they're getting a Vox clone.6AQ7's are very Fendery-sounding, plentiful and inexpensive) all I needed to do to get an absolutely stunning guitar tone was a simple cap job (needed anyway), a speaker replacement (MANDATORY - the speaker is junk almost anything is an improvement, but a P12Q-type is the secret weapon) and a lower-gain preamp tube (pick your poison - 5751, 12AY7 or even a 12AU7). It's mostly "weird" because it was so unlike Fender to use a more *expensive* system and parts, especially in the CBS days. The transformer-coupled inverter is actually a much better system than a driver tube, which wears out, needs to be precisely balanced and can have a huge effect on tone and gain (in a bad way, mostly). "I read Gerald Weber's first book and I'm no a tech") think there is something "wrong" with them. The transformer-coupled phase inverter invariably makes people with a smattering of technical knowledge (i.e. They are probably one of the great "sleeper" amps of all time for small club and studio use - for guitar. While tweed Champs and blackface Princetons are commanding prices of over a grand on Ebay, you can grab the little Musicmaster Bass for around $250, and those with the energy and desire to take on a search could very well turn one up in a pawn shop or used music shop for less.We had several discussions where about these 7 or 8 years ago. It should be noted here that, as is often the case, what is good for a guitar is also good for harp, and the Musicmaster Bass amp really shines with the sounds of a little tin sandwich being pumped into it through a decent microphone. If cranked, the clean becomes a fabulous dirty crunch with plenty of room to be heard in a smaller combo situation. The amp can provide excellent clean tones at lower volumes. Many players prefer to swap out the CTS speaker for something more to their liking, but the stock piece still delivers decent sound and is desired by some. Nothing fancy here, but it delivers in the sound department. There is a simple slider on/off switch, one knob for volume, one for tone. ![]() Laid out simply, the amp produces twelve watts with either 6v6 or 6aq5 preamp tubes. The Musicmaster Bass amp is a great way to get good tone from an honest vintage Fender tube amp without needing to take out a bank loan. Gradually the news spread that the Musicmaster Bass, while doing little for bass amplification, could flat scorch with a guitar, a situation which was something of a mirror of Fender’s initial bass amp offering, the Bassman. Somewhere along the line, however, a guitarist was hard up for something to power his six string, and a guitar got plugged into one of these things. Created as a practice amplifier for bedroom work, the amp really doesn’t do much at all for bass, with many bassists feeling that above 4 on the volume knob there really just isn’t much to it. One particular piece of equipment that illustrates this point well is Fender’s Musicmaster Bass amplifier. As is often the case, those low-dollar pieces of past years that got passed over so readily have become items of value to players these days. In the 70s Fender produced a line of budget music gear under the “Musicmaster” name. Looking for real vintage tube gear but not blessed with unlimited funds? There may not be a free tweed Champ or blackface Super Reverb sitting on ever corner, but there are still deals to be had straight from Leo himself. ![]()
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